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Ginseng honey drink is a refreshing tonic drink made of the exotic oriental herb, ginseng which is known since ancient times to have active natural ingredients that are effective for reducing stress level, promoting cell regeneration by increasing oxygenation to the cells, revitalizing blood circulation, and detoxifying the body. Revered in Chinese medicine for thousands of years to restore and maintain health, ginseng today is well accepted in European and American medicinal applications and is used worldwide as a home remedy and in the preparation of hot and cold beverages such as ginseng tea, ginseng honey, ginseng beer, and applied as an ingredient in soaps and facial creams. Among the varied promises of this popular herb are an increased physical stamina and vitality, better resistance to stress, and a rejuvenated nervous system.

Many people are more familiar with the Asian species of ginseng, often called Chinese or Korean ginseng or scientifically known as Panax ginseng, which is very similar in appearance to North American ginseng. However, what may be confusing to many people is that ginseng products vary considerably in quality and many contain little or no detectable active ingredient. Also, not all potential risks and advantages of ginseng are known. The most common side effects are nervousness, agitation, insomnia, diarrhea, and headaches. As ginseng has an estrogen-like effect, children, pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers are advised not to take it. Occasionally, there have been reports of more serious side effects, such as asthma attacks, increased blood pressure, and heart palpitations. So far, there are no regulated manufacturing standards in place for these compounds to minimize the risk of contamination.

Ginseng roots are always seen as high quality, expensive items on the shelf, but an icy bottle of chrysanthemum ginseng or ginseng honey drink made from ginseng extract powder costs slightly more than a dollar at my workplace cafeteria. A very healthy and economical beverage, if you could take the taste. The roots are bitter and the taste is unpleasant to most people. Some Westerners have even described the taste of ginseng tea as awfully “dirt-like”. This herb is not something that people would eat or drink for its taste. To moderate its flavor, it is often combined with other fragrant ingredients such as chrysanthemum, lotus paste, cocoa, cinnamon, coffee, green tea, lemon, or even honey which is a natural antibacterial and anti-fungal preservative for ginseng and its compounds. Honey also contains a wide variety of vitamins, including pyridoxine (vitamin B6), thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2) and Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and zinc, anti-oxidants and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

Ginseng honey is also widely used in the revitalization of skin cells. For instance, ginseng-honey soaps, cleansers, toners, creams, and lotions have been developed for skin care to help in energizing sluggish and repairing lackluster skin. Its immune-boosting qualities and constituents stimulate and regenerate the metabolism on the cell-level, foster cell regeneration, enhance nourishment, support healthy skin functions, and address skin problems such as eczema, wrinkles and freckles.

Most people consume testosterone boosters to increase their muscle mass however it is found that testosterone has worked effectively in improving concentration and enhancing memory. Testosterone therapy can improve energy levels and sexual desire as well.

Types of testosterone boosters

There are mainly two types of boosters that are available in the market, legal and illegal. The legal boosters are natural that have no known side effects and they are more effective. Their results show up slowly and gradually when compared to the illegal boosters that give instant results. Illegal boosters are available without any prescription. Use of these illegal boosters may cause some serious medical conditions similar to anabolic steroids. Legal boosters are not only safe but also very effective in promoting muscle growth and improving sex drive.

How do testosterone boosters work?

There are many brands of these boosters in the market but you need to choose the one that is capable of giving the results that you desire. Estrogen stimulates the secretion of testosterone in the body and low levels of estrogen in the body means more secretion of testosterone. Most of the brands of these boosters aim to reduce the estrogen level in the body and stimulate testosterone production in the body.

Guidelines on consuming testosterone boosters

Wrestlers, body builders, athletes, weight lifters and all the people who want to build muscles get strength and increase libido can use these boosters. It is always advisable to start these boosters only after you are at least 21 years of age. This makes your body capable of handling the changes caused in the body due to increased testosterone levels. Many young boys start taking them at the age of 17 or 18 but it may not be good for their body to start using these boosters at such an early stage. You must always take it as a prescription drug even though it is easily available over the counter. This will keep you safe from all the possible side effects of these boosters. If you have been suffering from any heart or kidney problem then it is better to stay away from these boosters because a significant increase in the level of testosterone can be dangerous for you under these medical conditions. People with problem of an enlarged prostate must strictly stay away. When you start consuming these boosters you should also drink a lot of water.

Benefits of using natural testosterone boosters

There are no side effects of the natural boosters because they are herbs. These can be consumed without any fear of side effects. They can be consumed by professional athletes because they do not supply hormones to the body. Unlike illegal testosterone boosters they are not banned by the sports bodies. These improve overall natural health instead of simply increasing muscle mass. Natural boosters work as natural supplements for improving health which automatically increases the testosterone production in the body.

The pharmaceutical companies would have you believe that a cure for Erectile Dysfunction is recent with the discovery of Sidenafil (Viagra). However there have been effective natural cures for Erectile Dysfunction for thousands of years. In more recent years with the introduction of modern extraction techniques used when manufacturing today’s capsules and tablets the active ingredients are able to be taken up by the body more easily, making them even more effective.

The flip side of that is the side effects have become more pronounced.

There is some confusion when discussing natural cures for Erectile Dysfunction because there are two sets of herbs/plants.

One set increases hormone levels but do nothing to dilate blood vessels (Open up blood vessels – so curing Erectile Dysfunction ).

This is a nightmare for someone suffering with Erectile Dysfunction because it increases desire but does nothing to enable strong erections.

Here are the most effective plants in the two groups…

1. Plants That Increase Hormone Production

Ginseng

A plant found in the colder areas of North America and Asia. Only the root is used for medicinal purposes.

Very well known aphrodisiac that increases desire and energy levels.

Polygonatum Verticillatum

A Himalayan flowering plant.

A legendary aphrodisiac in Asia.

Desert Cistache

An Asian parasitic plant that looks like a cross between a pine cone and a pineapple.

A well established sex tonic. It activates sex hormones in both sexes.

Rhodiola Sacra

A Tibetan plant who’s name derives from the Greek Rhodon which means rose because of the rose like smell of the roots.

Only recently available outside Asia. Has been used as a sex tonic for thousands of years.

Tongkat Ali

A flowering plant well known in Malaysia and Indonesia Increases testosterone levels. Used by body builders.

2. Natural Cures For Erectile Dysfunction

The following plants dilate blood vessels but usually only work completely successfully as a combination – not on their own.

Horny Goat Weed

Probably the best known natural cure for Erectile Dysfunction. Also known as Epimedii. It’s common name was as a result of goat herders noticing that goats eating the plant were stimulated into excessive copulation. Open’s up the blood vessels. It also stimulates the sensory nerves particularly in the genital region in both sexes. Can be successful with some people on it’s own.

Cordyceps Sinensis

Featured on the BBC’s Wild China. Known as the king of invigorants. Open’s up the blood vessels particularly to the groin. Huge black market trade for it in China. Its a fungus found at 4000 feet on the Tibetan plateau.

When bought in capsule form results can vary wildly because of different processing techniques.

Curculigo Rhizome

This is Asian herb and is the dried rhizome of Curculigo orchioides.

Open’s up the blood vessels. Long history of treatment for Erectile Dysfunction.

L-arginine

An amino acid used to make nitric oxide in the body which dilates the blood vessels.

Can be effective in some people and is available in capsule form, however it has to be taken all day – around 8 capsules a day and is very slow to start to work – up to a week.

Ginko

A tree found in Japan and China.

Can help as a natural cure for Erectile Dysfunction because it helps blood flow by thinning the blood.

However it is associated with a variety of side effects including heartburn, breathing problems and seizures.

Yohimbe

This is the bark of the Yohimbe tree in Africa.

Again can be useful in some people in terms of an a natural cure for Erectile Dysfunction but unfortunately is associated with serious side effects including anxiety, fast and irregular heartbeats, and stomach cramps.

Many men, myself included, are looking for a safe and effective way to boost their natural testosterone. Increased testosterone levels have many benefits, especially for men who are over 35. It will make you not only look better, but feel better as well.

So, what are the safe, legal and effective ways that we men have to boost our natural testosterone levels?

I want to take a look now at 8 popular testosterone enhancing sports supplements. You may or may not have heard about all 8, but do you know if they actually work? This article will answer that question for you.

Here are the 8 testosterone boosters we will be looking at:

1. ZMA

2. Tribulus Terrestris

3. Fenugreek

4. Activate by Designer Supplements

5. 6-OXO

6. Avena Sativa

7. Tongkat Ali

8. Yohimbe

ZMA – ZMA is a designed mineral formula comprised of zinc monomethionine aspartate, magnesium aspartate and vitamin B-6. They are combined in specific ratios to supposedly maximize the effectiveness of ZMA. A 1999 study showed increases of up to 30% in free and total testosterone during an 8 week study of NCAA football players. However, this study was conducted by one of the owners of the company that holds the patent on ZMA. Not completely unbiased.

ZMA may have helped testosterone levels because the mineral zinc and magnesium play important roles in the production of anabolic hormones, especially testosterone. The study participants were shown to have borderline deficient levels of both minerals at the beginning of the study, so raising their levels to normal could have accounted for the rise in testosterone.

I wouldn’t rule out ZMA completely, most people in the U.S. are deficient in both zinc and magnesium. If you are slghtly deficient in zinc and/or magnesium ZMA could increase your testosterone production by bringing your levels back to normal. 8 out of 10 stars!

Tribulus Terrestris – This is a weed that grows in temperature and tropical climates and has been used for centuries to increase libido in males. Does it also increase testosterone levels as many supplement companies would have you believe? That depends on who is taking it.

Tribulus terrestris HAS been shown to increase testosterone levels by as much as 30%, but only in individuals who have low testosterone levels to begin with. It will raise your levels to normal, but it will not raise them if you already have normal testosterone levels.

So, tribulus terrestris is partially useful as a testosterone booster. If you are overtrained, if you are on a low calorie ‘cutting’ diet or if you are recovering from steroid or prohormone use (as part of PCT) tribulus terrestris can be useful n raising your testosterone levels. Don’t expect that it will give you super high test levels or significantly increased libido. 6 out of 10 stars!

Fenugreek – Fenugreek is an herb found primarily in Indian food. It has historically been used by nursing mothers to increase milk production. Studies on fenugreek are scant, but it has been shown to decrease blood sugar levels of type II diabetics.

Fenugreek has become popular recently as a testosterone booster in bodybuilding supplements. There is no proof at all that this is true. Because of it’s effect on blood sugar levels it could be useful as a cutting supplement used to lower blood sugar and insulin spikes. 2 out of 10 stars!

Activate – Activate is a fairly new product from Designer Supplements that claims to increase free testosterone levels in the body. The active ingredient has been trademarked under the name Divanil and is an extract of the stinging nettle plant.

Your body has both free testosterone and bound testosterone. Only the free testosterone is of use to you in building muscle. So, you may have high testosterone levels, but if all of it is bound it is useless to you for muscle building.

Your body controls the amount of free testosterone through a protein called Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG). The SHBG binds to your free testosterone making it unavailable for muscle building. Activate works by inhibiting (decreasing) the SHBG in your body. This means more of your testosterone is free to help with your muscle building.

There are no studies confirming the rise in free testosterone levels, but there are studies showing that lignans from stinging nettle extract inhibit SHBG and user feedback is almost unanimously positive. I myself have used Activate several times and find that it increases focus in the gym, hardens my muscles and also increased libido. 10 out of 10 stars!

6-OXO – This is a product developed and trademarked by Ergopharm. The active ingredient is 4-etioallocholen-3,6, 17-trione. There have been several studies to date that validate 6-OXO as a testosterone booster. These studies while small have shown average free testosterone increases of 126%. Longer term studies are still underway, but initial reports are positive. 9 out of 10 stars!

Avena Sativa – Please don’t believe the hype behind avena sativa. Avena sativa is the scientific name for wild oats. While I enjoy oatmeal as a good source of carbohydrates it is not a testosterone booster? No way! There are no studies or historical evidence that avena sativa does anything to increase testosterone levels. 0 out of 10 stars!

Tongkat Ali – Tongkat ali is an extract from the root of the Eurycoma shrub found mainly in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is also called Longjack and Eurycoma Longfolia.

It has been used for centuries in southeast Asia to boost libido and as an aphrodesiac. Studies confirm that it works very well, increasing both sexual function and endurance as well as libido.

Researchers are unsure how Tongkat ali works, but they believe that it both increases testosterone production and increases free testosterone. Like a 1-2 punch. Common effects from Tongkat ali are increased well being, better body composition, increased libido and increased focus and aggression.

Tongkat ali does take some time to start working so it may take up to 2 weeks before you start to see its effects. You also need to make sure you are getting an extract of the root powder and not just root powder. The extract is more expensive, but necessary. 8 out of 10 stars!

Yohimbe – Yohimbe has been used as a testosterone booster as well as a fat loss aid. While it does aid in fat loss through several mechanisms, there is no proof that it boosts testosterone levels.

It is likely that people believe it increases testosterone because it does increase libido, however the libido increase is not due to a testosterone increase. Yohimbe works partially as a vasodialator which means it opens up blood vessels, especially those in the lower extremeties such as the genetalia.

Yohimbe has also been shown to have several negative and possibly dangerous side effects and many physicians advise their patients not to take yohimbe because of these side effects. 3 out of 10 stars!

Tongkat Ali is a small tree that grows mostly in South East Asia and it has some wonderful healing powers that we men should all take advantage – mostly being the power of its roots to boost testosterone production. To be clear about this, the tree roots of Tongkat Ali don’t contain testosterone; rather the compounds in the extract of this tree’s roots stimulate the body’s own production of this essential hormone. We need higher levels of testosterone than our current lives find us with, and this extract from Tongkat Ali tree roots does a great job of boosting our levels.

Like all testosterone boosting supplements, it is essential that we cycle them – meaning that we must rotate the use of Tongkat Ali extract with other testosterone boosting supplements so that our body never gets used to any particular supplement. Building up a tolerance to any type of boosting supplement is counter-productive, though not harmful as such because none of them are toxic in any way.

The Malaysian government has done a wonderful job of researching the testosterone boosting powers of Tongkat Ali extract, and they have gone the extra distance with the best practice techniques for washing, drying and extracting the vital compounds from the tree roots and it has done so because of the export potential of the tree product which is mostly only found in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Of course there is more to getting the most out of your increased testosterone level besides taking and rotating your diet supplements, including a diet that contains the cholesterol needed to produce the hormones and also some short bursts of intense weights training to trigger the release of the increased testosterone from the proteins that are bound to it and to set the testosterone free so that the body can put it to work.

To build muscle mass there is a lot more going on and needed than simply going to the gym and pumping iron. Over the years I always adopted a different approach than that of my son. That is, I preferred lighter weights with high numbers of repetitions whereas my son took the more traditional approach of lower repetitions and much heavier weight and it wasn’t until recent years that I found out why he is right and I was wrong. It all comes down to diet and doing what is necessary to trigger the brain into building more muscle mass by producing increased testosterone.

Testosterone is needed to build muscle and the level of testosterone we have in our body is decided by our brain. Essentially the brain seeks to maintain that level of testosterone needed by us to sustain the lifestyle we are living and so if we do very little muscle-work, then we will have a much lower level of testosterone than if we regularly undertook heavy lifting. Cholesterol is made by the testicles breaking down cholesterol through various stages, and so having sufficient cholesterol in our diet is important. Further, it is strongly recommended that people take a diet supplement like Tongkat Ali tree root extract so the body also has the necessary compounds to most efficiently break down the cholesterol into testosterone.

Then it all comes down to getting the brain to cause the series of events needed that ultimately lead to increased muscle mass, and the only way to do this is to make your muscles burn with a few minutes of heavy weights training. When the brain detects the muscles burning from stress that is not usually part of a normal day, it firstly sets some testosterone free from storage in the blood for immediate use and that night when asleep, the brain not only causes the used up testosterone to be replaced, it produces and increased amount to cover a situation of the stress being repeated.